China 'absolutely will not' rule out use of force on Taiwan, Taiwan rejects '1 country, 2 systems' policy

Taiwan's President William Lai has declared that Taiwan must reject China's "one country, two systems" policy, and maintain its freedom and democratic system.

Lai was speaking to soldiers at a commissioning ceremony on Oct. 31 for Taiwan's first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks bought from the United States.

He said Taiwan is strengthening its defence to protect the homeland and ensure peace and stability, as only strength can bring true peace, TVBS and CNA reported.

Signing a peace agreement cannot bring peace, and neither can accepting aggressors' demands and abandoning sovereignty.

Taiwan must therefore firmly oppose aggression, the advancement of unification with China, and the "one country, two systems" policy, Lai said.

He emphasised that the people must forever uphold Taiwan's free and democratic constitutional system, and stand by their principle that Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other.

China's stance

Lai's words came just two days after a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, Peng Qing'en, reiterated China's "one country, two systems" approach to Taiwan during a news conference in Beijing.

On Oct. 29, Peng said China will create "space for peaceful reunification", but emphasised that it also "absolutely will not renounce the use of force and reserve the option to take all necessary measures" over Taiwan, as quoted by Reuters.

Peng made these remarks ahead of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping in Korea on Oct. 30, where it was previously thought that the issue of Taiwan might surface.

Force, however, was not mentioned by Wang Huning, China's top official in charge of Taiwan policy, during his speech on Oct. 25, which China officially designated as the Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration.

Wang instead emphasised that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should promote peaceful relations and rule out the cause of the "separatists".

Taiwan's defence spending

Facing growing military threat from China, Lai announced in August that Taiwan would gradually increase its defence spending to 5 per cent of its GDP by 2030.

The plan will begin with a record-high defence allocation of 3.32 per cent of its GDP, proposed in the 2026 government budget.

"The Taiwanese people safeguarding their sovereignty and preserving their democratic and free way of life should not be viewed as provocation," Lai said at the Oct. 31 ceremony, as quoted by Reuters. "Investing in national defence is investing in peace."

The self-governing island has to date received 80 of the 108 M1A2T tanks it bought from the U.S., which have been gradually delivered since the end of 2024.

The tanks, specially customised and adapted to meet Taiwan's military needs, can fire high-explosive anti-tank warheads and kinetic energy ammunition, according to Reuters.

Although Trump and Xi did not discuss Taiwan when met on Oct. 30, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth did so during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Oct. 31.

Posting about their discussion on X, Hegseth wrote that he emphasised U.S. concerns about China's activities around Taiwan.

The U.S. "will continue to stoutly defend its interests and ensure it has the capabilities in the [Indo-Pacific] region to do so", he added.

Top images from Lai Ching-te's Instagram and gov.cn